Is your penis a sign of longevity? Experts weigh the pros and cons

World-famous biohacker Brian Johnson is drawing attention for his shocking approach to erection health.

Johnson’s motto was “don’t die,” taking Cialis, undergoing penile Botox, and even undergoing low-intensity shock wave therapy on his, uh, Johnson to improve blood flow, strengthen erections and achieve sexual performance comparable to that of a teenager.

“Nocturnal erections are a very important sign of health,” Johnson, 48, said in 2024. “Men who don’t have nocturnal erections are 70 percent more likely to die prematurely. It signals death.”

He’s not the only longevity seeker to make a splash with his strict regimen.

Fitness guru Ben Greenfield, 44, tried sound wave therapy and amazing stem cell injections to optimize sexual performance and vitality.

So is penile health a true barometer of longevity? Are these biohackers playing the long game? — Or overworking yourself daydreaming?

The Washington Post spoke with two experts about the growing interest in penile biohacking — and they shared prudent ideas for protecting their crown jewels for decades to come.

How does penis health reflect overall health?

“Penile health can be measured in a number of ways; [namely] “Erectile dysfunction (ED), orgasmic function, sexual desire, intercourse satisfaction and overall satisfaction,” Dr. Ryan Welter, founder of Regeneris Medical, a pioneer in regenerative cell therapy, told The Washington Post.

Welter added that declining penile health, especially ED, has been identified as an early predictor of cardiovascular disease, often appearing two to five years before a heart attack.

The arteries in the penis are much smaller than the arteries that supply the heart and brain, which means they often show the first signs of plaque buildup.

High cholesterol and plaque buildup can reduce the blood flow needed to achieve an erection.

Nerve damage is also a major cause of ED because it affects signals from the brain to the pelvis.

Neurodegeneration is common with age and is also a hallmark of diabetes, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, Parkinson’s disease, stroke and Alzheimer’s disease.

Finally, an imbalance of sex hormones may pave the way for ED. Low testosterone levels can reduce sexual desire and the ability to get and maintain an erection.

“Also, and this is important, happiness is one of the best predictors of longevity,” Welter said.

“Sexual dysfunction and low sexual satisfaction are indicators of unhappiness and require treatment if longevity is the goal.”

What are the red flags of poor erection health?

“Often, over time, men experience erections that are not as strong as they once were, making it difficult to maintain an erection over time. [and] Changes in erections at night and in the morning,” Chris Bustamante, an aesthetic nurse and founder of Lushful Aesthetics, a men’s clinic in New York, told The Washington Post.

“They may take longer to ejaculate, or [they] May ejaculate faster. Generally speaking, as you age, longer periods are more normal. “

Bustamante said sudden and dramatic changes in the quality, frequency and duration of erections, especially if accompanied by symptoms such as rapid weight gain, shortness of breath or fatigue, should prompt an emergency visit to a doctor, who will evaluate the cardiovascular system, hormone levels and the presence of tumors.

That’s why it’s important to track your morning and nighttime erections and their overall hardness.

Johnson, for his part, uses the Adam Health Sensor ($249) to measure his nighttime erections, collecting data on erection duration, frequency and quality to generate an erection health score.

He said he also tracks his sperm count, movement and shape, penile blood flow, urination rate and prostate size.

An erection is a stronger benchmark than semen characteristics, Bustamante said.

“Sometimes it’s normal [the] Semen volume decreases with age,” he explains.

“Semen volume varies greatly from person to person to begin with. So some men will naturally have higher semen volumes than others.”

What are the common treatments for ED?

“The most important treatments for longevity and healthspan, especially in the penis, are diet and exercise and maintaining good metabolic health,” says Welter.

As a hard rule, Bustamante says, you need to focus on fruits, vegetables and fiber, and limit the saturated fat content of red meat and the trans fat content of processed foods.

Red meat and processed foods contain high amounts of sodium, saturated fat, and preservatives, which can increase blood pressure. High blood pressure can cause ED by damaging and narrowing blood vessels.

When it comes to exercise, Bustamante said it’s important to build muscle because “muscle is the organ of longevity.”

He recommends 30 minutes of aerobic exercise each day but warns against one popular activity.

“We did find that ED was more strongly associated with cyclists,” Bustamante said.

“It doesn’t matter if you have special, luxurious seats,” he added. “All that pressure on the perineum (the skin and tissue between the genitals and anus) can really damage these nerves and blood vessels over time.”

Lifestyle changes aside, low-dose Cialis relaxes the smooth muscles of the prostate, bladder neck and penis, thereby increasing urine flow and promoting erections, Bustamante said.

What about those expensive biohacking tools?

“Over time, a man’s penis can become less sensitive—partly from sex and masturbation, and partly from overall aging,” says Bustamante.

“Helping organizations re-sensitize is a very important factor in terms of overall performance.”

This is why some biohackers turn to low-intensity focused shockwave devices.

Bustamante said the sound waves emitted by these gadgets cause micro-damage to penile tissue, triggering the growth of new blood vessels and increasing blood circulation, which improves penile sensitivity and function.

Shock wave therapy and sound wave therapy are often used interchangeably, so it’s important to know what you’re really getting.

Generally speaking, shock wave therapy uses intense, high-energy sound waves, while acoustic therapy usually refers to gentler, lower-intensity sound waves.

“It’s not strong enough to really penetrate that deep into that tissue,” Bustamante said of sound wave therapy.

“It’s going to be very, very superficial and, therefore, it’s really not going to be impactful.”

By itself, Botox temporarily relaxes muscles by blocking the nerve signals that cause them to contract.

When it’s injected into the penis, patients often notice they can achieve harder, faster erections, Bustamante said. But Botox usually only lasts three to four months.

“This treatment is really great for improving quality of life in terms of erectile function,” Bustamante said, adding that it can enhance the effectiveness of Cialis and Viagra.

As for penile stem cell injections, this treatment has not yet been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

It is considered experimental and there is no strong evidence of safety or effectiveness.

Bustamante also warns against injecting salmon sperm derivatives into the penile area, an increasingly popular practice, because it can cause infection, allergic reactions and possibly some funky odor.

Instead, he recommended and administered “P-shots,” in which platelet-rich plasma from the patient’s own blood is injected into the penis to increase blood flow and stimulate tissue repair.

“These modalities, like shockwave and P-shot, are really beneficial for people to experience better sex,” says Bustamante.

Is it worth trying – or shocking – to get up and running?